Inka Essenhigh - Contemporary Artists

WWF

Inka Essenhigh

WWF

2002
2002, oil on canvas

183 x 203cm

Inka Essenhigh’s paintings redefine pop as the epitome of aesthetic hierarchy. Her ultra-slick surfaces operate as virtual fields, where estranged narratives play out in cross-wired systems of reference and recognition. In WWF, Essenhigh draws from romanticised emblems of decadence: the classicism of Greek frescos or the empyreal motifs of Asian lacquer-ware are resembled with futuristic technophilia, made more dynamic in the fantasy realm of cartoon. The god-like figures contort in a stylised motif of aestheticised violence and sexuality. Essenhigh’s highly structured formalism eschews emotional intimacy; line, space, and colour are used to create stunning tension, a baroque beauty that is majestically antiseptic.